Hundreds remember slain child

By Anthony Lane
Star Tribune Staff Writer

RIVERTON -- Hundreds of people walked through Riverton on Monday to remember Marcela Hope Yellowbear. Most wore shirts with the girl’s picture and the dates of her short life.

Born in Aug. 15, 2002, she died in Riverton on July 2, 2004, after enduring weeks of horrific abuse.

The “Walk for Hope” started at the Wind River Casino just outside Riverton. Family of Marcela’s mother filled the front of the column of walkers, followed by a handful of children carrying a banner with a simple message.

“Prevent child abuse,” the sign read.

Tim Gist, an assistant Fremont County attorney, walked near the middle of the group as he pushed a stroller holding his two children. Gist was one of the prosecutors who successfully tried Marcela’s father on charges of first-degree murder.

Gist said he remembers first seeing pictures of Marcela’s body after she died.

“Words could not express what was done to her,” Gist said.

Andrew Yellowbear Jr. was sentenced to life in prison following his conviction.

Macalia Blackburn, Marcela’s mother, pleaded guilty before Yellowbear’s trial to being an accessory to second-degree murder. She is scheduled for sentencing on that charge in about two months.

Gist remarked that his own daughter and Marcela were only months apart. Had Marcela survived, he said, it would have been possible for the two later to become classmates.

A group of men sat around a large drum in the back of a pickup as the others walked. John Yellowplume, a Northern Arapaho who serves as the tribe’s drumkeeper, said the eagle songs the group performed were given as “blessings for the people.”

Police cars guided the walkers as they made their way to Riverton’s City Park. Ivan Posey, chairman of the Eastern Shoshone Business Council, was one of several speakers to address the group once it arrived there.

He and others expressed desires that something positive come of Marcela’s death.

“There is hope for better things in our lives,” Posey said, noting that he was speaking on behalf of both tribal business councils.

Lupe Blackburn also addressed the group, reading a poem written by her niece, Macalia Blackburn.

Earlier in the day, Lupe Blackburn said she thought the walk could help raise awareness about domestic violence.

Riverton Mayor John Vincent offered a similar view when he addressed the gathering. He spoke of the connections that formed in the community after Marcela died.

“I think she’s really helped to unite people,” Vincent said.